The Shops at OCEAN'S GATE change the face of Marshfield: Revitalizing downtown continues with 40,000 s/f of retail space

Diamond Sinacori, LLC, is on its way to changing the face of Marshfield with The Shops at OCEAN'S GATE, a new retail development totaling 40,000 s/f. The new shopping center is located on several acres in the heart of downtown and is easily accessible by car from the many neighboring South Shore towns. In addition, with the pending completion of a train line from neighboring Scituate to downtown Boston, the developers are confident that the resulting population boom in Marshfield and the surrounding towns will more than adequately support this commercial venture for generations to come. Now under construction, the new buildings at The Shops at OCEAN'S GATE will replace a number of derelict buildings that stood on the site for decades and, even when fully tenanted, created a less than ideal image for this singularly beautiful oceanfront community. When completed in early 2008, however, The Shops at OCEAN'S GATE will dramatically change that image and will bring a new mix of shops and services to the area. For the first time in its history, downtown will become a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly destination for both the residents of the town and the surrounding communities. "Not only will this development change the image of downtown," said Merrill Diamond, principal of Diamond Sinacori, "But in many ways, it will change the image of the entire town." Diamond Sinacori, along with designers from the Boston-based architectural firm of Utile Inc., will totally revamp this part of downtown, but will incorporate Marshfield's history and the traditional New England charm that has been part of its architectural legacy since its incorporation in 1640.To that end, the new buildings at The Shops at OCEAN'S GATE will be an aggregation of connected individual structures that look as if they had developed and evolved over time within an architectural vocabulary that can best be described as seaside colonial. All of the structures will be painted white and trimmed in black to echo the historic buildings at the entrance to downtown, with color being introduced through awnings, flower boxes and newly planted flowering bushes and trees. Developers Diamond and Nicholas Sinacori, along with representatives from the town, Utile Inc., CB Construction, Inc. (the general contractor) and Century Bank (the construction lender) celebrated the groundbreaking of this milestone on May 31st. All who attended were excited to see the construction of this much anticipated project finally being realized. Since that event, the work has been advancing according to schedule, with demolition and backfilling having been completed and footings and foundation work nearing completion. "I've been in the business for 30 years and this is the most important project we have ever done" said Diamond, "No project will have more of an impact on any community in which we and most other developers have worked." The leasing broker for The Shops at OCEAN'S GATE is Mark Shair of M & J Leasing. New tenants at the development are scheduled to be released soon. The Shops at OCEAN'S GATE is the first retail development for the Boston-based development firm. Since its founding in 1978, Diamond Sinacori has specialized primarily in multi-family residential construction and has carved out a unique reputation for historic preservation, adaptive re-use and architecturally appropriate new construction that is sensitive to both the built and un-built environment. They are the co-developers of the nearly completed Waterworks at Chestnut Hill and, on the South Shore in neighboring Scituate, are responsible for developing the condominiums at Dreamwold and The Residences at James Landing.